Typhoon Conson Makes Landfall in China

Typhoon Conson has come ashore with high winds and heavy rain in China's Hainan province, days after blazing a trail of death and destruction across the Philippines.

Officials said the storm struck during early evening Friday in the city of Sanya, with winds in excess of 120 kilometers per hour. The official Xinhua news agency said Conson overturned 10 fishing vessels in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands before reaching Hainan.

Officials warned that heavy rains from the typhoon would worsen the misery in several Chinese provinces where severe flooding has already killed 135 people and destroyed more than 100,000 homes.

The storm is forecast to move next across the Gulf of Tonkin and strike Vietnam late Saturday southwest of Hanoi.

The storm lashed the Philippines earlier this week, leaving 38 people dead and 47 still missing. Electricity has been restored to much of the capital, Manila, and operations at the city's international airport have returned to normal.